


Dog sitting

by i_gaze_at_scully



Series: Dog Owner AU [3]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-09-13 19:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16898925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_gaze_at_scully/pseuds/i_gaze_at_scully





	Dog sitting

It’s going to rain today. Dana can tell before she turns on the radio to listen for the weather. She can tell because the barometric pressure change is giving her a headache and because Stella slept in. Stella doesn’t like rainy days either. The sky looks like spilled paint water when Dana steps out, and she pulls the hood of her raincoat tighter around her face. It’s just misting now, but it’ll pick up soon, she’s sure.

She traverses her neighborhood with Stella, passing neat lawns and white picket fences, brown brick apartment buildings and condominiums. She’s always out too early to see many commuters, so she’s surprised to pass by a man struggling to get a suitcase and a …dog crate into his trunk. Mulder.  Stella’s tail starts to wag as Dana nears his car.

“Can I help with that?” She offers. Mulder looks up and gives her a wan smile.

“Happy Monday,” he deadpans. “Thanks.” He looks ragged, baggy suit under a baggy overcoat, billowing in a pre-storm wind. His tie’s a bit of an eye sore and it’s blown over his shoulder. He bats it away like a fly.

“I’m guessing by the attire that this is a trip for business, not pleasure?” Dana speculates as they struggle to tetris his trunk.

“The Garden State awaits,” he mumbles dryly. Dana hears a faint whining and pokes her head around to see Luna sitting up front. She’s clearly as pleased as Mulder is about traveling to New Jersey.

“Do you usually take Luna with you on business?” She’s not sure what business of hers it is, but she finds herself uncharacteristically comfortable with this man she’s bumped into–literally–all of twice. He’s got an easy charm about him, even as miserable as he is this morning.

“No, but the guys who usually check in on her while I’m away are at a convention this week. I had to call three different motels to find one that’ll let me crate her.” He shuts the trunk but makes no move to leave. He’s got such puppy dog eyes; Dana’s heart goes out to him.

“Why don’t I check in on her?” She offers. He cocks his head in surprise. “I live right down the block and I’m up early for this one anyway.” Stella’s pre-occupied by a squirrel scurrying around a tree. “It really wouldn’t be any trouble.”

He glances at his watch, then at his dog, then back at Dana. He loosens his tie and takes the bridge of his nose between his pointer finger and thumb, silently mulling the offer over for a minute.

“You have no idea how much I appreciate this, Dana,” he says finally, exhaling heavily. “I owe you one. Here, let me get you the spare key.”

Mulder wrangles Luna and her crate back into the house, Dana and Stella following behind. Dana strains to hear as Mulder begins explaining Luna’s routine from two steps ahead–his legs are a lot longer than hers.

“Besides the energy, she’s actually pretty easygoing. Crafty though, so watch out for that. She gets a scoop in the morning, a scoop in the evening. I mean I’m sure you’ve got the mechanics down.” He opens and closes the cabinet door where the food is kept and Dana is thankful for her sharp memory. He’s got a bit of a manic energy about him, but the smile he throws over his shoulder as he flits about is genuine.

“I shouldn’t be gone more than a couple of days. Here’s my cell phone number if you need it.” He scrawls the digits down on a napkin. When he gives it to her, he places his hand on her bicep gently and looks her in the eye. “Thanks again, Dana.”

Suddenly warm, Dana offers a small smile. “My pleasure.”

—

Luna is, by all accounts, an absolute loon. Mulder was right, she was crafty. When Dana comes to feed and walk her the night he leaves, she finds that her crate is wide open and the kitchen trash can has met an unfortunate demise. She calls him when she realizes she doesn’t know where to dispose of all the trash strewn about the kitchen.

“Mulder,” he answers. In the background is a smattering of voices and the rumble of train tracks.

“Hi Mulder, it’s Dana. I’m sorry to bother you, but where’s the trash chute in your building?”

“Oh no,” he groans. “What’d she do?”

“She’s either a big fan of your kitchen trash or she hates it. It’s unclear.”

“Dammit,” he mutters. “I gotta get back to the case, but there are bins in the basement. I’m so sorry. She takes a while to warm up to people.”

“Thanks,” she says, interest piqued at his mentioning of a case. He hadn’t mentioned that he was a detective, or something of the sort. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Thanks a million, Dana. I should be back by tomorrow night, if today’s been any indicator.” The background noise increases suddenly. “Gotta run,” he closes as the line goes dead.

On the second day, Luna moves on from trash to toilet paper. Dana cleans it up at breakfast and comes in on her lunch break, more out of worry for Mulder’s apartment than for Luna. “Luna!” She scolds when she arrives to find the remnants of a roll of paper towels littering the rug. Tired of cleaning up the messes and realizing the crate lock is no match for Luna, Dana moves a side table to block her escape route. When she comes back at dinner time, Luna is whining pitifully in her crate. She licks Dana’s hand as she unlatches the door and nuzzles up to her side as soon as she’s out. It’s the most affection she’s shown the whole time, and from then on, she’s an angel.

Mulder doesn’t come back when he said he would. She realizes she didn’t give him her number, so she has no way of knowing when he’s back. On her morning walk with Stella, she sees no car in the driveway and assumes she’s still on Luna duty. That evening, she sits on Mulder’s couch petting Luna for a bit after their walk. Mulder’s apartment isn’t too bad for a bachelor–she postulates that he’s a bachelor, anyway, based on the lack of evidence to the contrary. It has an easy ambiance to it, like he does. She somehow doesn’t feel out of place there. She startles a bit when the phone rings, the sudden noise cutting through the ambient gurgling of the fishtank. When the machine picks up, it’s Mulder’s voice on the other end.

“Dana? Are you there? If you are, pick up.”

She gently lifts a curious Luna off her lap and presses the phone to her ear.

“Mulder? It’s Dana.” She scratches Luna’s head absentmindedly.

“Dana, I’m glad I caught you.” He sounds drained. “I didn’t get your number, I had no way of telling you… how’s Luna?”

Luna’s head tilts as though she knows, and Dana chuckles. “She’s doing just fine.” She had mixed feelings about Mulder’s delay, annoyance clashing with a strange amount of concern.

“Listen,” he starts. “I’m a jerk. Let me take you out to dinner.”

“Interesting sales pitch there,” she replies with a smirk, taken aback by the offer but impressed by his spunk.

“Fair enough,” he laughs. “But really, I owe you. You pick the place, I’ll buy.”

Luna looks up at her expectantly.

“All right,” she agrees. “I’ll give you my number. Call when you get back and we’ll figure something out.”

She hears the smile in his voice when he replies. “Deal.”

—

Dinner may or may not be a date. She can’t really tell. One minute they’re making small talk and the next he’s leaning over the table to wipe a bit of food from the corner of her mouth. She picked a casual enough place to leave it open, and he wore noncommittal enough clothes. It was simply dinner. And it was lovely.

He’s an FBI agent, she learns. Quite impressive, though he never came off as striving to impress her–she appreciated that. He says he investigates the paranormal, and she has to suppress a laugh, a reaction she’s sure he gets all the time.

“Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?” He asks with waggling eyebrows and a sort of boyish charm.

“Logically,” she quips, “I’d have to say no.” She takes it seriously though, and that’s a reaction she thinks he doesn’t get too often.

It’s a riveting discussion, one she isn’t used to on a first date. If it was a date, that is. And  _if_  it was, it was one of her better. If it wasn’t… well, she’d like one, she decides.

She returns home to find a happy, sleepy Stella curled up on the couch. Her tail wags when Dana walks through the door.

“Hey girl,” she croons, scratching her chin. “How would you feel about a doggie play date?”


End file.
